Ewing: £1trn of oil still remains in North Sea

The oil industry could be harvesting reserves from the North Sea for many years to come yet, according to energy minister Fergus Ewing.

He has claimed that the North Sea could still contain oil and gas reserves worth more than £1 trillion, suggesting that close to 24 billion barrels could be extracted from the region.

Mr Ewing told MPs the sea around Scotland contains "significant unharvested reserves" and said that despite production peaking in the late 1990s, there is still plenty for the oil industry to extract.

"Here we are 40 years after oil and gas pioneers in the North Sea first started to pump Scotland's oil, and still the North Sea continues to produce 900 million barrels every year. And the story continues with significant unharvested reserves remaining in the North Sea," he explained.

The minister added that oil production could continue until the 2040s at the very earliest.

His comments were made into a debate on gas and oil following the announcement by BP to go ahead with a second phase of development at the Clair field.

Posted by Claire Manning